Unreal Reality
by Boo922
Summary: Torie Fox finds a mysterious package in a pile of presents on her birthday. None of her family claim they gave it to her, and when she opens it, she finds a Hogwarts letter. Her mother hates magic, and i'm not good at summaries! R&R!
1. Introduction

"Happy Birthday, Torie!"  
  
"Ah! Oh, it's just you, Mother. Go away!" Torie awoke from a very bad dream to be staring at her mother. It was Torie's eleventh birthday, and she didn't want to be bothered. Actually, she didn't want to be alive. "Go-away-now."  
  
"Torie, are you still angry at me for banning you from reading 'Harry Potter?'"  
  
"As a matter of fact, yes, I still am mad at you. All my friends read it! Why won't you let me?"  
  
Torie's mother was against witchcraft and sorcery. She thought people who could perform magic had bad blood. She didn't want to expose her only daughter to such rubbish.  
  
"Haven't I gone over this with you about six hundred and thirty-two times!" Torie's mom shouted. (A/N: Torie's last name is Fox, so I'm going to call her mother Mrs. Fox)  
  
"No, actually. You've gone over it six hundred and thirty-one times!" Torie shouted back in a matter-of-factly voice.  
  
"Well, Torie, I'm gonna make it thirty-two!" Mrs. Fox forced a smile. Torie gave a sick smile back. "People-who-do-magic-have-bad-blood! I- don't-want-you-reading-about-people-who-have-bad-blood!"  
  
"But Mom-" Torie started.  
  
"Don't 'but mom' me! Go down and eat your breakfast!" Mrs. Fox interrupted.  
  
"Fine." Torie sighed. I'll have presents anyway, she thought.  
  
She had presents allright. From her mom and dad, cousins, friends, and... 


	2. Chapter 1: Muggle Smarts

The most unexpected person of all...Albus Dumbledore.  
  
Torie casually walked down the hardwood steps to the kitchen. She acted as though she wasn't angry at anybody, but she secretly wanted them to know she was angry, but when they asked her, she wouldn't tell them that she was angry.  
  
(A/N: Girls, you know what I'm talking about!)  
  
"Good morning Torie!" Mr. Fox exclaimed when he saw his daughter walk through the door into the kitchen.  
  
"Hi, dad."  
  
"What's wrong, Torie? I just heard you and your Mother fighting upstairs."  
  
"Oh, nothing. I'm perfectly fine..."  
  
"Torie!"  
  
"Fine! Mom won't let me read Harry Potter, and all my friends do, so I really want to because I heard it's really good and everybody at school is obsessed with it, and-"  
  
Mr. Fox put a finger to Torie's lips and she fell silent. She liked her dad much more than her mom because he was so funny and playful. Her mom was a straight, strict woman with no feelings whatsoever. She was the kind of person who is so stubborn that they'll go to the end of the earth to get their way.  
  
"Torie, open your presents please. I don't want to hear you telling on your mom anymore," He said softly.  
  
"Okay. Here, starting with...Uncle Murray and Family!" Torie started. She tore open the pink hearted wrapping paper and found a bunch of school supplies. "Oh, great! School supplies!" Torie exclaimed in the most sarcastic voice that she had ever put on.  
  
"Torie!"  
  
"Sor-ee! Here, one from Aunt Sophia and her Family," Torie said. She found a brand new monopoly game.  
  
"I've already got two of those," she complained.  
  
"Torie, it's the thought that counts!" Mrs. Fox said, emerging into the kitchen from he backyard, where she had obviously been doing the gardening because the flowers sparkled like the sun on an autumn day.  
  
"My gosh, Mom! Can't a girl live her birthday in peace?" Torie yelled, very annoyed.  
  
"Actually, I'm the one who gave you a birthday, so don't talk back to me, Missy!" Mrs. Fox challenged.  
  
"This is really starting to bug me now!" Torie screamed.  
  
Mrs. Fox left the room.  
  
"Thank God!" Torie sighed.  
  
"Torie!" Mr. Fox warned.  
  
"Fine. Here, this one is from-nobody! They didn't leave their name!" Torie exclaimed, looking at the newspaper-wrapped package that was laying in her lap. "Oh well!"  
  
Torie tore through layer after layer of newspaper until she came to a letter. 'Oh yeah, that's right, don't leave a gift! And I was expecting something good, too!' Torie thought.  
  
(A/N: I'm putting one quote for thoughts, and two for speech)  
  
Torie stuck her thumb under the seal of the letter and opened it. It read:  
  
HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY  
  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock  
  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)  
  
Dear Miss T. Fox,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been  
accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please  
find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Minerva McGonagall  
  
Deputy Headmistress  
  
"Dad!" Torie screamed, dropping the letter and its contents on the floor. (which included two other pieces of parchment in addition to the one that she just read)  
  
"Please don't scream, Torie. What do you want, now, honey?"  
  
"I have been accepted at Hogwarts! I think that it's the place that Harry Potter goes to school to learn Magic, but I'm not sure. Of course, Mom won't let me read the books so how am I supposed to know?"  
  
"Torie, that's wonderful! I knew it would happen!" Mr. Fox exclaimed. He ran to hug his daughter, dropping the newspaper on the floor.  
  
Mrs. Fox walked into the room, and picked up the newspaper. Her eyes widened, and then her face suddenly became very red.  
  
"Kevin! What is this?"  
  
Mr. Fox released Torie from the hug and walked over to his wife.  
  
"Kevin! What is this?" Mrs. Fox repeated. "The Daily Prophet? What in the Lord's name is this?"  
  
"I'm-I'm late for work, Miriam. I gotta run," Mr. Fox said sheepishly. He snatched the paper from his wife's hand, grabbed his briefcase (which spilled its contents all over the floor as he picked it up) and skittishly ran out the door. (Forgetting to pick up his papers.)  
  
"Torie, what're you holding?" Mrs. Fox asked, with a eyebrow-raised expression on her face.  
  
"Nothing, just nothing! I'm just opening my presents, see. Look, here's the one from you! I'll just open it and-No, Mom, my letter!"  
  
Too late. Mrs. Fox opened the parchment, started to read, and had that same look she had when she had been reading the Daily Prophet.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Please review! Constructive Critism is welcome! Tell me if I should continue!  
  
Note: None of this belongs to me except the some characters (e.g. The Foxs) 


	3. Chapter 2: The Short Explanation

Hey, thanks for the reviews, everyone. I don't know why they're not showing up, but hopefully they will soon! Read on! Some parts might not make a lot of sense, but they will later. Tell me if you like! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Mom?" Torie said, hesitantly. "Mom?"  
  
Mrs. Fox had been staring at the letter for more than five minutes.  
  
"MOM!" Torie walked into the living room and sat down in her favorite purple armchair. She was nervous. Really nervous. Her mom hated people who read about magic, magicians, and anything to do with magic, (A/N: Kinda like the Durlseys, eh?) and now Torie had been accepted to Hogwarts! Her dad was reading some kind of magic newspaper, got really embarrassed when his wife had picked it up, and ran out the door dropping his papers! (A/N: The papers were from the Ministry of Magic) What a morning! Her breakfast lay ice cold on the table now.  
  
"Mom, maybe it's just a trick, you know like say my friend Gracie just wanted to play a little trick on me, like she always does?" Torie knew that this was not the case. She heard a door shut. "Mom, please give me my letter back," Torie whispered. She was talking to the wall. Her mom had left for her work with Torie's letter, and there was no way she could get it back.  
  
"I guess I should go call Daddy, on his cell phone," Torie said to herself, walking up to her room. She picked up her phone that she'd gotten for her Birthday the previous year, dialed her Dad's number, and sat on her bed.  
  
"This is Kevin!" Torie heard her dad answer on the other end. In the background she heard voices saying, "Oh, congratulations, Mr. Crouch! I knew that you would find him!" and a "movie-phone" voice saying, "Welcome to the Department for Misuse of Muggle Artifacts!"  
  
"Dad, I need to talk to you!" Torie whispered, as if somebody was trying to eavesdrop.  
  
"Well, I'm very busy, but I guess I could talk for a minute. Make it fast," Mr. Fox replied.  
  
"Mom took my letter to work with her. I don't know what to do, and I don't know what is happening! Help me!"  
  
"One second, honey, I need to take this call." Mr. Fox said. He picked up a phone in his office (A/N: He works in the same office as Arthur Weasley, so that is why they have a fellytone, I mean telephone!) and put his cellphone down. Torie could hear his conversation, but it was very faint.  
  
"Are you serious, Arthur?" she heard her dad say. Then he was silent for half-a-minute. Then she heard him gasp. "You can't skip work today! Oh. Okay. I'm on the phone with my daughter, so I'll talk to you later, Arthur, have fun with the kids in Diagon Alley!" Mr. Fox finished.  
  
He picked his cellphone up and began with Torie again. "So, what were you saying, honey?"  
  
"Mom took my letter to work, and...Dad, you never mentioned Arthur when you tell us about your work. Is he new?" Torie questioned.  
  
"Uh, no, Torie I have something very important to tell you," Mr. Fox started. "I work for the Ministry of Magic. In the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office."  
  
'Muggle? Ministry of Magic?' Torie thought to herself.  
  
"Dad, why were you so happy about me getting accepted at Hogwarts, whatever that place is?" she asked, longing desperately for an answer. Torie had no clue about anything that was happening, because she wasn't aloud to have anything to do with Harry Potter.  
  
"Torie, let me explain everything to you," Mr. Fox coaxed. And he started his story about everything that Torie had missed out on.  
  
"Hogwarts is a school where young witches and wizards go to, to learn magic. They start at the age of eleven and stop at eighteen. It is seven years. I went to Hogwarts as a kid, and now I work for the Ministry of Magic, in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department.  
  
"Muggles are non-magic people, such as your mother, who don't believe in magic. You, however, my dear, you are a witch. You will be going to Hogwarts this year, because you are eleven, and I have your letter right here with me. (A/N: He did the 'Accio' spell to get it back from Mrs. Fox.) You see, Torie, I used magic to get your letter, actually. And-"  
  
"So you mean I'll learn how to be a magician?"  
  
"Torie, please don't interrupt. No, I mean real magic, like making a piano play music by itself, or making light where it is dark. Do you follow me?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," Torie sighed. She had so many questions, like about what her Dad's work was, if all her friends were going, and where this Hogwarts place was!  
"Dad, will I have to leave Creekside Academy?" Creekside was the school she had been going since she was in Kindergarten. It was summer, so (June 6th, her Birthday) she would need to tell all her friends she was leaving, instead of having an announcement made to her class at school.  
  
"Yes, honey, you will have to leave Creekside, but don't worry, you'll make plenty of friends at Hogwarts."  
  
"Are you trying to tell me that none of my friends are going either? And what are we going to tell Mom?"  
  
"I'm afraid none of your friends are going, Torie. It's not very common that you would find any of your friends going. Maybe that Rebecca kid is a witch. And mom, well, we're getting a divorce."  
  
"What!"  
  
"Yes, a divorce. I can't keep the truth from her for much longer, Torie! Miriam is very sneaky, you know. Now, no more about that until later. Do you have any questions?"  
  
"Yes. Why have you lied to me and Mom for all these years?"  
  
"Torie, it's a law that you can't tell muggles about the Magical world. I didn't know if you were a witch or not, and your mother is not a witch, so I couldn't tell her. You understand?"  
  
"Yeah. When do I get my letter back?" Torie asked, longing for that letter.  
  
"I'll bring it to you now. Bye-bye, honey!" Mr. Fox said, and hung up the phone. Torie did the same.  
  
'What does he mean, He'll bring it to me now?' Torie thought. Her question was soon answered.  
  
**POP!**  
  
"Aaahhhh!!! How'd you do that, Dad?" Torie yelped as Mr. Fox had apparated right infront of her.  
  
"It's called apparating. You can get from one place to another in a 'POP!'" He chuckled. He reached into his coat pocket and handed Torie the letter. "Read throught it carefully. I'll be skipping work tomorrow to take you to Diagon Alley, the wizard marketplace."  
  
POP! He was gone.  
  
Torie opened the letter, and walked over the the table where half of her presents were still lying, un-opened. She looked at the second and third pieces of parchment that said what supplies she would be needing. 'So much for Uncle Murray's school supplies!' she thought. 'I wonder who else in the family are witches and wizards.' 


End file.
